fa PAGE SIXTEEN. ' Thz BLACK BOX By E. PHILLIPS OPPENHEIM Author of "Mr. Grex of Monte Carlo," * The Vanished Mess enger," "The Lighted Way," etc. Novelized from the motion picture drams of the same name Universal Film Mansfacturiog Company. rom produced by the Illustrated with ture prod RETRY (Copyright, 1915, by Otis F, Wood.) SYNOPSIS. mM her aparument at the Lelans MEBs daughter of Lord Ashleigh, is murdered and the Ashleigh diam? s} necklace sto- len. The New York police place tha cass in the hands of Banford Quest, known &i.. feared as the master criminologist of the world. He takes Lenora, Ella's maid, to his own apartments and through hypno- tism and the use of elec'ro-telepathic ap- pliances discovers her connection with the crime, recovers the diamonds. and arrests the murderer, Miacdougal, Lenora's hus- band, though. nearly trapped to his death in a tough tenement housed while engaged in the work SECOND INSTALLMENT. "THE HIDDEN HANDS." CHAPTER VL Sanford Quest and Lenora stood side by side upon the steps of the courthouse, waiting for the automobile, which had become momentarily entan- gled in a string of vehicles. A little crowd of people were elbowing their way out on to the sidewalk. The faces of most of them were still ehadowed by the 'three hours of tense drama from which they had just emerged Quest, who had lit a cigar, watched them curiously "No need to go into court," he re- marked. "I could have told you, from the look of these people, that Mac- dougal had eséaped the death sentence. They have pald their money--or rather their time, and they 'have been cheated of the one supreme thrill." "Imprisonment for life seems terri- ble enough," Lenora whispered, shud: dering. "Can't see the sense of keeping such a man alive myself," Quest declared, with purposeful brutality: "It was a cruel murder, fiendishly committed." They were on the point of crossing the pavement toward the automobile when Quest felt a touch upon his shoul: der. He turned and found Lord Ash- leigh standing by his side. Quest glanced towards Lenora. "Run and get in the car," he whis- pered. "I will be there im a moment." "I would not have stopped you just now, Mr. Quest," sald Lord Ashleigh. "but my brother is very anxious to re- new his acquaintance with you. I think you met years ago." Sanford Quest held out his hand to, pay him. the man who had been standing a lit- tle in the background. Lord Ashleigh turned towards him .. "This is Mr. Quest, Edgar. You may remembér my brother--Professor Ash- leigh--as a man of science, Quest? He has just returned from South Ameri- oa" The two shook hands, curiously -di- verse in type, In expression, in all the appurtenances of manhood. "I am very proud to make your ac quaintance again, professor," Quest said. "Glad to know, too, that you hadn't forgotten me." "My dear &iv™*'the professor de clared, as he réledsed the other's hand with seeming reluctance, "I have thought about' yout many times. Your doings have always been of interest to me." "I am sorry," Quest remarked, "that our first meeting here should be un- der such distressing circumstances!" The professor nodded gravely. "It you'll excuse me, professor," said | Quest, "I think I must be getting along. We shall meet again, I trust." "One moment," the professor begged, eagerly. "Tell me, Mr. Quest--I want your honest opinion. What do you think of my ape?" "Of your what?" Quest' inquired dublously. > "Of my anthropoid ape which | have Just sent to the museum. You know my claim? But perhaps you would pre fer to postpone your fina¥ decision un- til after you have examined the skele ton itself." - upon thé eriminol | - "Of course!" he exclaimed. "For the moment, professor, I couldn't fol low you. You are talking about the skeleton of the aps which you Brought home from South America, and which "Naturally," the pro! assented, with mild surprise. "To what else? I am stating my case, Mr. Quest, in the North American Review next month; I may tell you, however, as a fellow "You must go and see it," the pro fessor insisted. "You shall be permit ted a special examination." © "Very kind of you," Quest mur around him, as they passed up the drive, with an expression of disap proval. "A more untidy looking place than yours, Edgar, I never saw," he declared. "Your grounds have become a jungle. Don't you keep any gardeners?" "I keep other things," he said serene ly. "There is something in my garden which would terrify your nice Scotch gardeners into fits if they found their way here to do a- little tidying up. Come into the library and I'll give you one of my choice cigars. Here's Craig waiting to let us in. Any news, Craig?" "Nothing has happened, sir," he re- plied. "The telephone is ringing in the study now, though," "I will answer it myself," the profes- sor declared, bustling off. The professor took up the receiver from the telephone. His "Hello!" was mild and inquiring. He had no doubt that the call was from some admiring disciple. The change in his face as he listened, however, was amazing. "George," he gasped, "the greatest tragedy in the world has happened! My ape is stolen!" His brother looked at him blankly. "Your ape is stolen?" he repeated. "The skeleton of my anthropoid ape," the professor continued, his voice growing alike in sadness and firmness. "It is the curator of the museum who is speaking. They have just opened the box. It has lain for two days in an anteroom. It is empty!" Lord Ashleigh muttered thing a little vague. The theft of a skeleton scarcely appeared to his unscientific mind to be 'a realizable thing. The professér turned back to the telephone. "Mr. Francis," he sald, "1 cannot talk to you. [ can say nothing. 1 shall come to you at once. I am on the point of starting. Your news has overwhelmed me." He laid down the receiver. He looked around him like a man in a nightmare. "The taxicab is waiting, sir," Craig reminded him, "That is most fortunate," the pro- fessor pronounced. "J remember now that 1 had no change with which to I must go back. Look aft er my brother. And, Craig, telephone at once to Mr. Sanford Quest. Ask him to meet me at the museum in twenty minutes. Tell him that nofh- ing must stand in the way. Do you hear?" The taxicab man drove off, glad enough to have a return fare. In about half an hour's time the profes scr strode up the steps of the museum and hurried into the office. Thére was a little crowd of officials there, whom the curator at once dismissed. He rose slowly to his feet. His manner was grave and bewildered. "Professor," he sald, "we will waste no time in words. Look here!" He threw open the door of an ante- room behind his office. The apart. ment was unfurnished except for one some- or two chairs, In the middle of the uncarpeted floor was a long wobden box from which the lid had just been pried. . "Yesterday, as you know from my note," the curator proceeded, "I was away. I gave orders that your case "Nothing left except the smell" a voice from the open doorway re- he Black B inologist," he explained to the curator. Quest stpolled thoughtfully around the room, glancing out of each of the windows in turn. .He kept close to the wall, and when he had finished he drew out a magnifying glass from his pocket and made a brief examina- tion of the box. Then he sked a few ' questions of the curator, pointed out one of the windows to Lenora and | whispered a few directions to her. | She at once produced what seemed to | be a foot rule from the bag which she : was carrying, and hurried into the | garden. "A little invention of my own for ! measuring footprints," Quest ex. plained. "Not much use here, I am afraid." Quest stood over the box for a mo ment or two and looked once more out of the window. Presently Le nora returned. She carried in her hand a small object, which she brought silently to Quest. He glanced at it in perplexity. The professor peered over his shoulder. "It is'the little finger!" he cried-- "the little finger of my ape!" | Quest held it away from him criti- | cally. "From which hand?" he asked. "The right hand." Quest exami the fastenings of the window be which he paused during his previous examination. He turned away with a shrug of the shoulders, "See you later, Mr. Ashleigh," he concluded laconically. A newsboy thrust a paper at them. Quest glanced at the headlines. Le- nora clutched at his arm. Together they read it in great black type: ESCAPE OF CONVICTED PRIS. ONER! Macdougal, on His Way to Prison, Grapples With Sheriff and Jumps From Train! Still at Large, Though Searched For by Posse of Police. CHAPTER VII, The windows of Mrs. Rheinholdt's town house were ablaze with light. A crimson drugget stretched down the steps to the .curbstone. A long row of automobiles stood waiting. Through the wide-flung door was vis- ible a pleasant impression of flowers and light and luxury. In the nearer of the two large reception rooms Mrs. Rheinholdt herself, a womar dark, handsome and in the prime of life, was standing to receive her guests. By her side was her son, whose twen- ty-first birthday was being celebrated. "I wonder whether that professor of yours will come?" she remarked, as the stream of incoming guests slack- ened for a mioment. "He hates receptions," the boy re- plied, "but he promised he'd come | never thought, when he used to drill science into us at the lectures, that he was going to be a tremendous big pot." Mrs. Rheinholdt's plump finger toyed for a moment complacently with the diamonds which hung from her neck. "You can never tell in a world like this," she murmured. "Here he is, mother!" the young man exclaimed suddenly. "Good old boy! I thought he'd keep his word." Mrs. Rheinholdt assumed her most encouraging and condescending smile as she held out both hands to the pro fessor. "It Is perfectly sweet of you, pro- fessor," Mrs. Rheinholdt declared. Mrs. Rheinholdt breathed a sigh of relief as she greeted her new arrivals. The professor made himself univer sally agreeable in a mild way, and his presence created even more than the sensation which Mrs. Rheinholdt had hoped for. In her desire to show him ample honor she seldom left his] side. ' "l am going to take you into my husband's study," she suggested, later on in the evening. "He has some spe- cimens of beetles--" : "Beetles," the professor declared, with some excitement, "occupied pre- cisely two months of my time while abroad. By all means, Mrs. Rhein- holdt!™ "We shall have to go quite to the back of the house," she explained, as she led him along the darkened pas- sages. His eyes rested for a moment upon her necklace. "You must really permit me,. Mrs. Rheinholdt," he exclaimed, "to admire your wonderful stones. I am a judge of diamonds, and those three or four in the center are, I should judge, unique." She held them out to him. The prifessor lald the end of the neck- lace gently in the palm of his hand and examined them through a horn-rimmed eyeglass. "They are "wonderful! He turned away a little abruptly. wonderful," he murmured, Why--"" OX seemed on the point of 'smiled acqulescently. | Se DAY, APRIL 17, 1915, Motion Pictures of This IDEAL Theatre," Monday "Stolen!" Mrs. Rheinholdt shofiked. "Stolen There in the Conservatory!" had admitted Craig, "take Professor; Ashleigh's servant into the kitchen y and see that he has something before | he leaves for home. Now, professor, if you will come this way." They reached a little room in the far corner of the house. Mrs. Rhein-, holdt apologized as she switched on the electric lights. "It is a queer little place to bring! you to," she said, "but my husband | used to spend many hours here, and. he would never aliow anything io be moved. You see, the specimens are in these cases." | The professor nodded. His general, attitude toward the forthcoming ex-|} hibition was merely one of politeness. As the first case opened, hgwever, his | manner completely changed. Without | taking the slightest further notice of | his hostess, he adjusted a pair of horn rimmed spectacles and commenced to mumble eagerly to himself. Mrs Rheinholdt, who did not understand a word, strolled around the apartment, yawned and finally interrupted a little | stream of eulogies, not a word of which she understood, concerning a green beetle with yellow spots. "l am so glad you are. interested, : professor," she. said. "If eyou don't mind, I will rejoin my guests. You will find a shorter way back if yon keep along the passage straight ahead and come through the cenzervatory." "Certainly! With pleasure!" the professor agreed, without glancing up. « Mrs. RHeinholdt's reception, not- withstanding the temporary ebsence : of its presiding spirit, was without doubt an unqualified success In one | of the distant rooms the younger peo- | ple were dancing. Philip Rheinholdt, with a pretty young debutante upon | his arm, came out from the dancing room and looked around amongst the little knots of people. "1 wonder where mother 1s?" he re- marked. "She told me--" The young man broke off in the middle ;of his sentence. He, too, like many others. in the room, felt a sud- den thrill almost of horror at the sound which rang without warning upon their ears--a woman's cry, a cry of fear and horror. Mrs. Rhein- holdt, her hands clasping her neck, her splendid composure a thing of the past, a panicstricken, terrified woman, stumbled into the room. She collapse. Somehow or other, they got her into an casy chair, A "My jewels!™ she cried. "My dia- monds!" "What do you mean, mother?" Phil 1ip' Rheinholdt asked quickly. "Have; you lost them?" "Stolen!" Mrs. Rheinholdt shrieked. "Stolen there in the conservatory!" They gazed at her open-mouthed, in. credulous, Then a still, quiet voice from the outside of the little circle intervened. "Instruct your servants, Mr. Rhein- 'holdt, to lock and bar all the doors*of the house," the professor suggested. "No one must leave it until we have heard your mother's story." "I had just taken the professor into the little room my husband used to call the museum," Mrs. Rheinboldt explained, her voice still shaking with agitation. "I left him there to exam- ine some specimens of beetles. 1 thought that I would come back through the conservatory, which is the quickest way. 1 was about half way across it when suddenly I heard the switch go behind me and all the electric lights were turned out. 1 couldn't imagine what had happened. 'While I hesitated I saw--" She broke down again. There was no doubt about the genuineness of her | terror. "You saw no one her son "It you will aliow me," he begged, "T am going to to my friend, Mr. Sanford Quest, the eriminologist. Co Ln | to a gate in the wall "fo the professor's servant--the man An affair go unusual as this might at- tract him. You will excuse me." The professor met the great crimin- ologist and his assistant in the hall upon their arrival. He took the for- mer at once by the arm. "Mr. Quest," he began, "in a sense I must apologize for my peremptory message. I am well aware that an or dinary jewel robbery does not inter- est you, but in this case' the circum: stances are extraordinary. I ventured, therefore, to summon your aid." Sanford Quest nodded shortly. "As a rule," he said, "1 do not care to take up one affair until I have a clean slate. There's your skeleton still. bothering me, professor. How- ever, where's the lady who was rohbed?" "I will take you to her," the profes- sor replied. Mrs. Rheinholdt's story, by frequent repetition, had become a little more coherent, a trifle more circumstantial, the perfection of simplicity and utter ly incomprehensible. Quest listened to it without remark and finally made his way to the conservatory. He re- quested Mrs. Rheinholdt to walk with him through the door by which she had entered and stop at the precise gpot where the assault had been made upon her. There were one or two plants, knocked down from the tiers on the right-hand side, and some dis- turbance in the mold where some large palms were growing. Quest and Le- nora together made a close investi gation of the spot. Afterwards, Quest walked several times to each of the doors leading into the gardens. "There are four entrances alto gether," hé remarked, as he it a cigar and glanced around the place. "Two lead into the gardens--one is locked and the other isn't--one connects with the back cf the house--the one through which you came, Mrs. Rheinholdt, and the other leads into your reception room, into which you passed after the assault. 1 shall now be glad if you will permit mie to examine the gardens outside for a few minutes, alone with my assistant, if you please." For almost a quarter of an hour Quest and Lenora disappeared. They all looked eagerly at the criminologist on his return. "It seems to me," he remarked, "that from the back part of the house the quickest way to reach Mayton ave. nue would be through this conserva- tory and out of that door. This is a path leading from just outside straight Does anyone that you know of use this means of exit? x Mrs. Rheinholdt shook her head. "The servants might occasionally," she remarked doubtfully, "but not on nights when I am receiving." The butler stepped forward. He was looking a little grave. * "I ought, perhaps, to inform you, madam, and Mr. Quest," he said, "that I did, only a short time ago, suggest who brought your mackintosh, sir," he added, turning to the professor--"that he could, if. he chose, make use of this means of leaving the house. Mr. Craig is a personal friend of mine, and a member of a very select little club we have for social purposes." "Did he follow your suggestion?" Sanford Quest asked. "Of that I am not aware, sir," the |. butler replied. "I left Mr. Craig with some refreshment, expecting that he would remain until my return, but a few minutes later I discovered that he had left. I will inquire in the kitchen and Tuesday, The professor's confidence was | sublime. "I could more readily associate you, | myself or young Mr. Rheinholdt here | with the affair," he declared. His words carried weight. The little breath of suspicion against the pro-) fessor's servant faded away. Ina me: | ment or two the butler returned. "It appears, madam," he announced, ! "that Mr. Craig left when there was only one person in thé kitchen. He | said good-night and closed the door be-| hind him. It is impossible to say, | therefore, by which exit he left the house, but personally I am convinced | that, knowing of the reception here to- | night, he would fot think of 'using the | conservatory." "Most unlikely, I should say," the! professor murmured. "Craig is a very | shy man. He is at all times at your | disposal. Mr. Quest, if you should! desire to question him." | Quest nodded absently. "My assistant and 1," he announced, | "would be glad to make a further ex-| amination of the conservatory, if you | will kindly leave us alone.' i They obeyed without demur. Quest | took a seat and smoked calmly, with | his eyes fixed upon the roof. Lenora | went back to her examination of the | overturned plants, the mold and the! whole ground within the immediate environs of the assault. She abandoned | the search at last, however, and came back to Quest's side. He threw away his cigar and rose, | "Nothing there?" he asked laconic-| ~ ally. i "Not a thing," Lenora admitted Quest led the way toward the door. i "Lenora," he decided, "we 3 up against something big. There's a new hand at work somewhere.' "No theories yet, Mr. Quest?" she | asked, smiling. "Not the ghost of one," he admitted ! gloomily . . . + . . Along the rainswept causeway of Mayton avenue, keeping close to the shelter of the house, his mackintosh turned up to his ears, his hands buried in his pockets, a man walked swiftly along. At every block he hesitated and looked around him. His manner was cautious, almost furtive. Once the glare of an electric light fell upon his face, a face pallid with fear, al- most hopeless with despair. He walked quickly, yet he seemed. to have no idea as to direction. Suddenly he paused. He was passing a great build- ing, brilliantly lit." For a moment he' thought that it was some place of en- tertainmert. The thought of entering | seemed to occur to him. Then he felt a firm touch upon his arm, a man in' uniform spoke to him. : "Step inside, brother," he invited | earnestly, almost eagerly, notwith-; standing his monotonous nasal twang. | "Step inside and find peace. Step in- side and the Lord will help you. Throw your burden away on the threshold." The man's first impulse at being ad- dressed had seemed to be one of terror. Then he recognized the uniform and hesitated. The man took him by.the arm and led him in. There were the best part of a hundred people taking their places after the singing of the hymn. A girl was standing up before them on a platform. She was com- mencing to speak, but suddenly broke | off. She held out her arms to where the professor's confidential, servant stood hesitating. "Come and tell us your sins," she called out. "Come and have them for- given. Come and start a new life in a new world. There is no one here who thinks of the past. Come and seek forgiveness." For a moment the waif from the rain-swept world hesitated. The light of an infinite desire flashed in his eyes. Then he dropped bis head These things might be for others. For him there was no hope. He shook his head to the girl, but sank into the nearest seat sud on to his knees. "He repents!" the girl called out. "Some day he will come! Brothers and sisters, we will pray for him." The rain dashed against the win- dows. The only other sound trom out- side was the clanging of the street cars. The girl's voice, frenzied, ex- borting, almost hysterical, pealed out to the roof. At every pause the little Story at the| THE Hr "critical periods of 8 woman's should. BLOOD IS THE STREAM OF LIFE Pure Blood Is Absolutely Necessary To Health "FRUIT-A-TIVES" PURIFIES These Wonderful Tablets, Made of Fruit Juices, Are The Best Of All Tonics To Purify And Enrich The Blood. Pure, rich blood can flow only in a clean body. 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